IN SHORT

New hires

Courier Publications LLC and VStv LLC in Rockland hired John Viehman as vice president of sales and marketing and Steve Betts as a reporter. Viehman most recently served as vice president and group publisher for Down East Enterprise Inc. in Rockport while Betts is a veteran journalist and an award-winning writer.

Maine Equal Justice Partners in Augusta hired Hildie Lipson as director of development and operations and Martha Stein as director of communications. Lipson was previously COO at Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting while Stein was director of development at Tedford Housing.

Baker Newman Noyes, an accounting and consulting firm in Portland, hired Eric Wetherell as a principal in the firm’s health care consulting practice.

OA Centers for Orthopaedics in Portland, a division of Spectrum Medical Group, hired Bruce Gomberg as an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in joint replacement of the hip and knee and newer techniques of partial joint replacements of the knee. Gomberg is the director of the Maine Orthopaedic Review, the nation’s longest-running orthopaedic board review conference.

Maine Instrument Flight at the Augusta State Airport hired Elizabeth Davis as executive assistant in the accounting department.

Diversified Communications, an international media company in Portland, hired Liz Decker as an executive assistant and Katherine Rushlau as a digital editor. Decker was previously with Unum while Rushlau was with BLR Healthcare in Middleton, Mass.

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate/The Masiello Group hired Rindy Stark as an agent in Wells and Fritz Dauth as an agent in York.

CIEE: Council on International Educational Exchange, a nonprofit study abroad and intercultural exchange organization in Portland, hired Peter Morales as chief information officer. Morales previously served in a variety of positions at New York University, including chief information officer and chief technology officer for the Tandon School of Engineering, chief technology officer and director of the Project Management Office for the NYU School of Law and program director for NYU Global Technologies.

The Jackson Laboratory, a nonprofit biomedical research organization in Bar Harbor, hired Gregory Leet as vice president for advancement. Leet most recently served as vice chancellor for university advancement at the University of California, Irvine, leading all advancement and fundraising programs and initiatives, including those of the UCI Medical Center and Chao Comprehensive Cancer Center.

RE/MAX Shoreline in Portland hired Christina Young as an agent.

Penobscot Community Health Care in Bangor hired Jenelle Hazzard as a member of the medical staff of Brewer Medical Center and Amy Myshrall as a certified family nurse practitioner at Helen Hunt Health Center in Old Town. Hazzard was previously emergency department charge nurse at Blue Hill Memorial Hospital while Myshrall provided comprehensive care at various clinical sites of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program.

Promotions

Maine Instrument Flight in Augusta promoted Janice Hallee to testing center supervisor for the computer-assisted testing service program.

Chester M. Kearney CPAs in Presque Isle promoted Michael Beardsley to senior accountant.

The MEMIC Group, a workers’ compensation specialist in Portland, promoted Eileen Moran Fongemie to vice president of finance and assistant treasurer. Fongemie was previously director of finance.

The United Way of Eastern Maine board of directors named Shirar Wilder Patterson as CEO and president, replacing John Kuropchak, who retired. Patterson was promoted from senior vice president and COO.

WBRC Architects Engineers in Portland promoted Kristian Kowal to principal. Kowal previously served as the firm’s design architect for Emera Astronomy Center at the University of Maine, Beardsley Meeting House and Gracie Theater at Husson University and MDI Biological Laboratory.

Appointments

Joshua Campbell Torrance was appointed to serve as chair of the historic house committee for the American Association for State and Local History. Torrance is executive director of Woodlawn Museum, Gardens & Park in Ellsworth.

Catholic Charities Maine added Kathy Dyer and Kimberly Suttie to its board of directors. Dyer is a retiree with more than three decades of volunteer and professional work in the field of faith formation on both the parish and diocesan levels. Suttie is the pastoral life coordinator for Corpus Christi Parish in Waterville.

The Finance Authority of Maine elected its officers for the 2017 year. Raymond Nowak was re-elected as chair; James Violette Jr., was re-elected as vice-chair; and Richard Roderick was elected as treasurer.

Achievements

The University of Maine Alumni Association recently announced its outstanding alumni award winners. David Bronson won the “Alumni Career Award,” Mian Riaz received the “Bernard Lown Alumni Humanitarian Award” and Ewa Kleczyk captured “The Spirit of Maine Achievement Award.” During his career, Bronson has served as a physician, researcher, professor of medicine and president and CEO of the Cleveland Clinic Community Hospitals and Family Health Centers; Riaz is an expert on food processing who directs the Food Protein Research and Development Center at Texas A&M University; and Kleczyk was named a “Top Female Executive” in 2015 by the International Women’s Leadership Association and received a “Top Five Business Women Award” from the New Directions Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association for her work in the pharmaceutical marketing research field.

The Bennett Law Firm in Portland announced that Peter Bennett was selected to the 2016 “New England Super Lawyers” list. Bennett was recognized as a lawyer representing management in the field of labor and employment law and is president of the firm.

Soft Trac LLC, a consulting firm specializing in nonprofit technology in North Yarmouth, said Jeron Comeau completed Microix certification training. Comeau is a nonprofit software consultant with the firm.

Camden National Bank recognized six nonprofit leaders who have dedicated themselves to helping their organizations achieve their goals. “Leaders & Luminaries” winners, who earned $5,000 for their nonprofits were Richard Corbin of Oasis Free Clinics in Brunswick, Sharon Goguen, Broadreach Family & Community Services, Belfast; Elizabeth McLellan, Partners for World Health, South Portland; and Allan Teel, ElderCare Network of Lincoln County, Damariscotta. The bank also recognized two “Emerging Board Leaders,” who received $1,000 each for their organizations; Winners were Annemarie Albiston of Aphasia Center of Maine in Carrabassett Valley and Katie Wallace of The Locker Project in Portland.

As part of its 50th anniversary celebration, Catholic Charities Maine selected Northern Maine Community College as its “Nonprofit Partner Award”winner, Larry Lachance as its “Volunteer Partner Award” recipient, St. Michael’s Parish in Augusta as its “Faith-based Partner Award” winner, Nancy Pierce as its “Inspiration Award” winner and HealthInfoNet as its “Healthcare Partner Award” recipient.

Maine Preservation announced its 2016 “Honor Awards” winners including Ella R. Hodgkins Intermediate School and Kennebec Courthouse in Augusta; St. Andre’s, Biddeford; Somerset Place (formerly Brewer High School), Brewer; Gray Memorial United Methodist Church, Caribou; Charles E. Moody School - Good Will-Hinckley, Fairfield; Halfway Rock Light Station, Harpswell; Brick North - Thompson’s Point, George S. Hunt Block (660 Congress St.), Rosa True and Westbrook Seminary Building - Alumni Hall, Portland; Knox County Courthouse, Rockland; Roosevelt School, South Portland; Edmund E. Goodwin House, Springvale/Sanford; and Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth.

The city of Portland and the Portland Development Corp. selected Diversified Communications as its 2016 Business of the Year Award winner, Maine College of Art as its 2016 Economic Development Achievement Award recipient and Maine Standard Biofuels as its 2016 Small Business of the Year.

Preti Flaherty, a law firm in Portland, announced that it was ranked among “2017 Best Law Firms” by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers. The firm received 15 Tier 1 awards in the Augusta and Portland and Concord, N.H. metropolitan practice areas. The firm also said that Michael Lane, a partner and a member of the firm’s Real Estate Group, was among a select group of authors chosen to contribute to the recently released “A Practical Guide to Land Use in Maine,” an authoritative source on the legal topics associated with the protection, use and regulation impacting Maine’s geography.

MaineHousing in Augusta presented its 2016 Stephen B. Mooers Award to Deb Keller, executive director of Bath Housing. The award recognizes the contributions of individuals in the housing field who assist Maine people in obtaining and maintaining quality affordable housing and services.

Preble Street, a social service agency in Portland, was awarded Charity Navigator’s top rating, four stars, for a 12th consecutive year.

Happy as Clams Gulf of Maine Inc. in Pembroke captured first place in the Enterprise Track in the Maine Food System Innovation Challenge. BREAZ in Portland placed second and goFarm in Cape Elizabeth was third. In the College Track, [Re]Produce, College of the Atlantic and Spent, Bowdoin College took top honors followed by kNOwWaste, Colby College and CommUnity, Unity College.

Edison Liu, president and CEO of The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Elected by his peers, Liu was recognized for his contributions to cancer biology, particularly the molecular analysis of breast cancer and to the global advancement of human genomics.

The Finance Authority of Maine recently presented its annual awards. Recipients included: Beal Education LLC d/b/a Beal College, Business at Work for Maine Award; Maine Youth Transition Collaborative, Education at Work for Maine Award; Camden National Bank, Lender at Work for Maine Award – over $1.5 billion in assets; and Machias Savings Bank, Lender at Work for Maine Award – under $1.5 billion in assets.

The 2016 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence, administered by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, were recently awarded to Sentry EHS, small business; Penobscot Energy Recovery Co., medium business; Wyman’s of Maine, large business; and Leonard Greenhalgh, founder and president of the nonprofit Maine Coastal Habitat Foundation, Community, Public Sector or Nonprofit.

The Environmental Health Strategy Center in Portland recently presented its 2016 Celebration for Healthy Families awards. Winners included: Andy Igrejas, executive director of Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, in Washington, D.C., The Frank Hatch Environmental Health Leadership Award; Steven Feder, primary care pediatrician at Lincoln Medical Partners, Boothbay Harbor and Damariscotta, The Bettie Kettell Award for Medical-Professional Leadership; James Chittum, director of business development at Grow-Tech LLC, South Portland, Sustainable-Business Leadership Award; and Regina Creeley, retired Old Town teacher, Grassroots Leadership Award.

Littler, an employment and labor law practice representing management in Portland, announced that Melinda Caterine was named Class of 2016 Fellows in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Caterine is a shareholder with the firm.

The American Council of Engineering Companies of Maine announced that the Schoodic Woods campground and development received a 2016 Engineering Excellence Awards. CES Inc., a firm of engineers, environmental scientists and land surveyors in Brewer, provided a number of services for the project that has been donated to the National Park Service and included in Acadia National Park territory.

Nestlé Waters North America selected Shelly Pittman as its 2016 Volunteer Coordinator of the Year award winner. Pittman is an administrative assistant at Poland Spring’s Poland facility.

Macpage LLC, a CPA firm in South Portland, said that Michael Rankin passed the Certified Fraud Examiner exam and now has a CFE designation. Rankin is a certified public accountant and focuses his audit and accounting services primarily on nonprofit organizations, colleges and universities, auto dealers and financial institutions.

Jonathan Fellers, an addiction specialist at Maine Medical Center’s Department of Psychiatry, was invited to a White House event to highlight advancements in recovery, prevention and access to treatment as it relates to substance use disorders. The event, part of the “Making Health Care Better” series, provided updates on the progress and implementation of the 2010 National Drug Control Strategy.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer civil rights organization, released the 2017 Corporate Equality Index. The index is an annual report assessing LGBT inclusion in major companies and law firms across the nation, including L.L.Bean Inc. in Freeport which recorded a score of 60 out of 100.

The Society for Human Resource Management presented a Pinnacle Award to Central Maine Human Resources Association in Auburn for its contributions to the human resources profession.

The United Way of York County and Kennebunk Savings presented its Spirit of Service Awards to Daniel Donnell, a York Hospital volunteer, and members of the Vet to Vet Program at Southern Maine Agency on Aging. In addition, Eastern Mechanical, Eagle Industries and SIS Bank earned a Gold Award for having employee participation rates between 80% and 100% and held four campaign events that built employee engagement; Baker Co., Biddeford Savings, Hussey Seating Co., Kennebunk Savings, Pratt & Whitney, Rubb Building Systems, WASCO Products and Xuron Corp. earned the Silver Award for participation rates between 65% and 79% with four campaign events; and Jagger Brothers won a Bronze Award for its employee participation rate of 55% to 64% percent and four campaign events that built employee engagement. Biddeford Savings was also honored as the winner of the third annual York County savings banks Ice Cream Challenge.

Verrill Dana, a law firm in Portland, announced that five of its attorneys were recognized for their skill as litigators in Benchmark Litigation’s 2017 edition. In addition, Karen Frink Wolf and Martha Gaythwaite were named to the national list of “Top 250 Women in Litigation” and the firm was ranked as a “Highly Recommended Firm” in Maine, the highest firm ranking possible.

The Portland Water District said it was awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association. The certificate is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents an accomplishment by a government and its management.

Maine Medical Center and The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital in Portland, with the assistance of MaineHealth’s Child Health Program, were recognized by the Immunization Action Coalition for achieving one of the highest reported rates in the state for its work to protect newborns from hepatitis B virus infection.